CJ311 Criminal Investigation

for S1T 2011

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Course Description:CJ311 Criminal Investigation: This intermediate course includes a discussion of the nature and purpose of criminal investigation, historical background, tools employed, skills development, and techniques useful in the reconstruction of criminal activity. Prerequisites: CJ100 and CJ105. 3:0:3

Learning Outcomes:Core Learning Outcomes

Differentiate types of investigative techniques used in courts.

Examine specific methods for investigation of major crimes.

Instructor Learning Outcomes

Develop improved communications skills through interactive discourse and preparation of written reports or constructing papers in specific formats.

Recognize significant contributors and movements within the field of criminal investigations.

Analyze pros and cons of differing investigative techniques by comparing against Constitutional and criminal law as well as societal expectations of moral actions.

Core Assessment:

For CJ311, all students will complete an essay, not less than 4 pages (1,000 words) in length (excluding the cover sheet, title, and bibliography pages) as follows:

It can be argued that the foundation for community support for law enforcement is in the trust built by faith that the police follow the law and adhere to the U.S. Constitution. For example, criminal investigative questioning must be guided by Fourth Amendment search and seizure protections. Harsh or questionable investigative methods may be unethical and illegal.

Discuss whether the concern for homeland security has redefined acceptable or ethical criminal investigative tactics used by law enforcement. Explain what impact changes in criminal investigative techniques and methods may have on police-community relations, criminal prosecutions, and the ability of police to investigate major crimes.

The essay should be typed, double-spaced, be written in APA format, including in-text source citations, and use a minimum of 4 course-external sources.

Each week, students are required to
engage in discussion among themselves by answering and commenting upon
questions posed for that week. Each week's discussion is worth 20 points,
with 1-10 provided for content and 1-10 points provided for timeliness and
substantive quality and quantity of replies to other students' postings.
Spelling, grammar and punctuation is counted as part of this grade. As a
general rule, simple replies like "good comment" or "I agree"
do not count as substantive. Instead, you will be expected to provide
personal viewpoints or pose significant questions to other students. As a
minimum, at least four substantive discussion postings should be submitted each
week.

Weeks 1, 2, 4 and 6 require a paper
which provides the students opportunities to apply material learned from
reading, virtual lecture and discussions. Each paper carries a maximum of
100 points. These papers must be at least 750 words and written in
APA format.

During weeks 1, 3, 5 and 7 you will
not have a paper due, but will instead take a timed quiz.

Please note that weeks 2, 4 and 6
have quizzes, but these are not part of your grade; they are only for your
practice.

During the eighth week, a proctored final exam will be taken by the student
which will combine multiple choices with short answer questions. Students
will also complete a Core Assessment paper which will be graded on a scale of
100 points. This paper is to be in APA format, and shall be not less than
1000 words in length. In this paper, you must use at least four sources of
material that is not from the text or course lectures, and must be cited within
the body of the paper.

Grading:

The
grading scale is as follows:

A
= 90-100;
B = 80-89;
C = 70-79;
D = 60-69;
F = 0-59.

The
final exam will count 20% of your total grade, weekly discussion
presentations will count 2.5% each week for a total of 20% of your course
grade; quizzes count 2.5% each for a total of 10% of the course grade; Week 1’s
and Week 6’s paper is worth 2.5%, Week 2 and Week 4’s papers are worth 5%
for a total of 15% of the total course grade. In Week 8, the CORE paper
will be worth 30% of your overall grade. A grading chart is included to
show the relative weights of each week’s work.

Late Submission of Course Materials:Work
should be submitted to the instructor by the last day of each assigned week.
Students experiencing a problem should contact the instructor to advise
the reason work may be submitted late. Unless authorized, late work will
be subject to a penalty of 10 points reduction for each week late.

Classroom Rules of Conduct:

Policy #1: Submission of Work:

A class week is defined as the period of time between Monday 12:01 am MST and
Sunday at 11:59 PM MST. The first week begins the first day of the
term/semester. Assignments scheduled for completion during a class week should
be completed and successfully submitted by the posted due date.
Create a back up file of every piece of work you submit for grading. This will
ensure that a computer glitch or a glitch in cyberspace won't erase your
efforts.
When files are sent attached to an email, the files should be in either
Microsoft Word, RTF, ASCII, txt, or PDF file formats.
Policy #2: Ground Rules for Online Communication & Participation

General email: Students should use email for private messages to the instructor
and other students. When sending email other than assignments, you must
identify yourself fully by name and class in all email sent to your instructor
and/or other members of our class.
Online threaded discussions: are public messages and all writings in this area
will be viewable by the entire class or assigned group members.
Online Instructor Response Policy: I will check my email frequently and
will respond to course-related questions within 24-48 hours.
Observation of "Netiquette": All your Online communications need to
be composed with fairness, honesty and tact. Spelling and grammar are
very important in an Online course. What you put into an Online course
reflects on your level of professionalism. Here are a couple of Online
references that discuss writing Online http://goto.intwg.com/ and netiquette
http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html.
Please check the Announcements area before you ask general course
"housekeeping" questions (i.e. how do I submit assignment 3?).
If you don't see your question there, then please contact me.
Policy #3: What to do if you experience technical problems or have questions
about the Online classroom.

If you experience computer difficulties (need help downloading a browser or
plug-in, you need help logging into the course, or if you experience any errors
or problems while in your Online course, click on the button in your
Online Classroom, then click on the helpdesk menu item, and then fill out the
form or call the helpdesk for assistance.
If the issue is preventing you from submitting or completing any coursework,
contact me immediately.

Understand and explain what
characteristics are most important in an effective investigator;

Describe the steps taken in crime
scene containment and explain its importance;

Identify means of protecting against
lawsuits;

Explain the elements of effective
crime report note-taking;

Describe the elements of proper
crime scene documentation through photography, videography and sketches and
know the relative advantages and disadvantages of each;

Describe the elements of an effective
police report;

Explain who prepares and who uses
police reports and in what ways they are used.

Readings:
Text: Chapters 1, 2 and 3
Class Activities: Introduction to online computer conference learning.
Introduction & discussion of syllabus/assignment schedule and course
overview. Overview of investigations and the various aspects of the
preliminary investigation, proper documentation of investigative scenes and
actions.
On-line Conference Assignment: These chapters list the basics as well as the ideals.
This week we will discuss what of these resources are available to a
medium-to-small police agency and how smaller agencies can meet these
expectations.

Weekly Discussion Questions:
Is it more difficult to be an investigator or a uniformed patrol officer in
today's world? What characteristics make either more difficult than the
other?

How common might it be for
detectives working a similar case to write reports with differing
information? What might be the reason and how should this be handled?

Paper:

Review attached documents
found in the Doc Sharing tab. First read the notes taken by an officer,
and then read the report submitted by that same officer. Based off your
text’s information, determine if the report fails in any regards and indicate
any errors you find by highlighting and inserting comment on the error.

Identify the most common forms of
physical evidence found, understand the difference between class evidence and
individual evidence and explain how each form falls within one of the two
classifications.

Class Activities: Learn and discuss the various types of searches as well as
the legalities involved. In addition, study the basic types of physical
evidence these searches seek to seize.

Weekly Discussion Topics/Question:

After reading the material on the
last four web sites above, discuss what police officers and crime scene
technicians should know about DNA and whether either group has more
responsibilities that the other in understanding this evidence.

Paper:
After having examined the main points of the Dept. of Justice Inspector
General's report of the allegations of improper evidence handling at the FBI
lab, provide your own opinion. Do you agree with the IG, or do you feel
differently? Provide some support for your opinion.

Discuss barriers to communications
and what enhances good communications in interviewing and interrogating;

Explain the legal restrictions on
interrogating and understand the major landmark cases that define and provide
legal exceptions to the basic laws;

Explain the difference between
direct and indirect questions and define when either might be used effectively;

Identify the legalities of
questioning juveniles;

Name the types of surveillance and
their advantages and disadvantages;

Describe how suspects are developed;

Recognize the legal and physical
differences between field identification, show-up identification and line-up
identification;

Identify the legal requirements of
arrest and discuss the legal liabilities;

Identify the limits of use of force
in making arrest.

Readings:
Text: Chapters Chapters 6 and 7.

Class Activities: Learn the basic considerations of questioning people,
compare and contrast the differences between interview and interrogation.
Study arrest procedures and legalities involved in various circumstances
to include problems with court presentation.

Weekly Discussion Topics/Questions:
Often a great deal of emphasis seems to be placed upon obtaining a confession.
It can be argued that, by itself, a confession is worthless because it is
so easily attacked in court. Of what value, then, is a confession?
What are the legal basis for arrest? This may vary in different states,
so be prepared to examine some differences. What are the ramifications of
improper arrests?

Identify the different categories
and degrees of murder and manslaughter;

Explain the special problems
encountered with death investigations;

Recognize physical evidence that can
contribute to identifying unknown dead, time of death and indicators of
criminal actions in death investigations;

Identify and articulate the elements
of the different types of assault;

Differentiate between domestic
violence and other types of assault;

Identify the different types of
sexual offenses and how they differ from sexual assault;

Explain the types of evidence
normally found in sexual offenses.

Readings:
Text: Chapters Chapters 8, 9 and 10.

Weekly Discussion Topics/Questions:
Are there any factors which make homicide investigation more or less difficult
than investigation of other crimes? Or is homicide investigation no
different than investigation of any other crime?
What are the elements of crimes of assaults (what kind of assaults are there?)?
What evidence would be available and would you seek to prove these
elements?
What are the elements of the various crimes of sexual assaults (again, what
kinds of sexual assaults are there?)? What evidence would be available
and would you seek to find to prove these elements?

Paper:
Read the Application scenario A on page 289 of your text and provide answers to
the two questions. In addition, provide a list of what physical evidence
you would search for in this incident.

Weekly Discussion Topics/Questions:
What makes crimes against children so different if the elements are essentially
the same as for adult victims? How do these differences impact the work
of the investigator?
What are the elements of the crime of robbery? After determining these, what
evidence would you seek to support and prove these elements?
On page 416 of your text, read the Application and provide answers to the
questions posed after this example, with particular emphasis on question 5.
Provide discussion to each others' responses.

Explain what other agencies can
assist in motor vehicle theft investigation;

Describe how fires are classified;

Identify the elements of the crime
of arson, and differentiate between various types or categories of the crime;

Describe special challenges that
exist in investigating arson or bombing crimes;

Explain the normal actions of fire
growth and indicate what elements indicate the possibility of arson;

Identify the differences between
bombings and arson and special challenges to bombings that differ from arson.

Readings:
Text: Chapters 14, 15 and 16

Weekly Discussion Topics/Questions:
Read Application situation A on page 472 and provide answers to the two
questions posed. How serious would you view this screw-up? What
measures could be taken to prevent this in the future?
In what ways are arson and bombing investigations the same or different?
What additional measures, if any, are needed for bomb investigations?

Paper:
Using the concept of White Collar Crime as found in the text, what do you
consider the most dangerous form and why? Provide supportive reasoning
for your choice.

Weekly Discussion Topics/Questions:
What do you consider the most significant challenges to investigating computer
crimes?
Is it necessary that official corruption be present in a community for organized
crime to be active?

Describe how the USE PATRIOT Act
enhances counterterrorism efforts by the United States;

Describe the usual sequence of
events in a criminal trial;

Describe the role of prosecutor and
what pretrial conferences are;

Explain why some cases are not
prosecuted;

Describe how to effectively prepare
for court and how to reduce objections to testimony;

Define what defense attorney tactics
to expect.

Readings:
Text: Chapters 20 and 21
Class Activities: All students take final exam this week.

Weekly Discussion Topics/Questions:
Do you feel that the Patriot Act is justified in our war on terrorism, or is it
an unwarranted erosion of the Bill of Rights?
What would you see as the differences between a "gang" and a
"cult?"
What would you see as the differences between terrorist groups and gangs or
cults?

Core Assessment Paper: See instructions and topic above.

Academic Honesty:Academic integrity is the foundation of the academic community. Because each student has the primary responsibility for being academically honest, students are advised to read and understand all sections of this policy relating to standards of conduct and academic life. Park University students and faculty members are encouraged to take advantage of the University resources available for learning about academic honesty (www.park.edu/current or http://www.park.edu/faculty/).from Park University 2010-2011 Undergraduate Catalog Page 92

Plagiarism:Plagiarism involves the use of quotations without quotation marks, the use of quotations without indication of the source, the use of another's idea without acknowledging the source, the submission of a paper, laboratory report, project, or class assignment (any portion of such) prepared by another person, or incorrect paraphrasing. from Park University 2010-2011 Undergraduate Catalog Page 92-93Academic honesty is required of all members of the learning community. Many of you aspire to criminal justice careers and the expectation of professional honesty and integrity is both expected and rigidly enforced. Hence, neither the college nor I will tolerate cheating or plagiarism on examinations, papers or other course assignments. Students who engage in such dishonesty should expect to receive failing grades and possible expulsion from Park University. Plagiarism is sometimes the act of carelessness or ignorance. This does not, however, make it less serious. One of the most frequent offenses occur with information taken electronically from internet sites. Be aware that I do check sources. If I find any form of plagiarism, the minimum result will be a grade of 0% on that work. If I believe it to have been a deliberate or flagrant act, I may fail the student for the course and may additionally recommend expulsion from Park University. If you have any questions in this regard please see me.

The instructor may excuse absences for valid reasons, but missed work must be made up within the semester/term of enrollment.

Work missed through unexcused absences must also be made up within the semester/term of enrollment, but unexcused absences may carry further penalties.

In the event of two consecutive weeks of unexcused absences in a semester/term of enrollment, the student will be administratively withdrawn, resulting in a grade of "F".

A "Contract for Incomplete" will not be issued to a student who has unexcused or excessive absences recorded for a course.

Students receiving Military Tuition Assistance or Veterans Administration educational benefits must not exceed three unexcused absences in the semester/term of enrollment. Excessive absences will be reported to the appropriate agency and may result in a monetary penalty to the student.

Report of a "F" grade (attendance or academic) resulting from excessive absence for those students who are receiving financial assistance from agencies not mentioned in item 5 above will be reported to the appropriate agency.

ONLINE NOTE: An attendance report of "P" (present) will be recorded for students who have logged in to the Online classroom at least once during each week of the term. Recording of attendance is not equivalent to participation. Participation grades will be assigned by each instructor according to the criteria in the Grading Policy section of the syllabus.

Disability Guidelines:Park University is committed to meeting the needs of all students that meet the criteria for special assistance. These guidelines are designed to supply directions to students concerning the information necessary to accomplish this goal. It is Park University's policy to comply fully with federal and state law, including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, regarding students with disabilities. In the case of any inconsistency between these guidelines and federal and/or state law, the provisions of the law will apply. Additional information concerning Park University's policies and procedures related to disability can be found on the Park University web page: http://www.park.edu/disability .

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Essay contains no required technical components. There are so many errors in the APA writing convention, in the paper presentation, or in grammar and/or spelling that it is difficult to read.

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